Thursday, October 5, 2017

Books I Read in September

This post should really be called "Books I Listened to in September" because the majority of them were audiobooks (I have a post about where to get Audiobooks here). The majority were also from the library this month, despite the fact that I've been collecting books faster than the old Taylor collected enemies.

The Rick O'Shea Book Club

The September choices were My Absolute Darling by Gabriel Tallent (I read and reviewed that in August) and All Our Wrong Todays by Elan Mastai, which I didn't finish in September so I'll pop that in next month's round up.

ARCs

Copycat by Alex Lake
Sarah, a doctor in her late thirties, gets a pretty big shock (as one would) when she receives a friend request on Facebook from someone posing as her. They've got photographs and information that only Sarah should be able to access, so what's going on? I did enjoy this, but found the chapters from the perspective of the antagonist a little Disney villain-esque. A good, quick, engaging read.Buy: Kindle | Book Depository

Lay Me to Rest by E.A. Clark
Annie is a young widow, pregnant with her late husband's baby. Her sister arranges a getaway in a remote Welsh village, but when she gets there Annie realises she may not be welcome. There's a malevolent presence (or two) at the cottage, so Annie digs deeper into local legend to see if she can bring the spirit some peace. I enjoyed this too, I didn't find it scary but I read it one evening and found it enjoyable if a little Joey-with-the-thesaurus at times.Buy: Kindle

The Rules of Magic by Alice Hoffman Published October 10th
A long-awaited prequel to the wonderful Practical Magic that follows the lives of Franny and Jet (the Aunts) before they were Aunts. The girls and their brother Vincent live with the Owens curse hanging over their heads, and it affects them in different ways. Set in the 1950s, this was a wonderful book and I absolutely adored it, it's perfect for this time of year and I'd recommend it to anyone who's a fan of magical realism or Alice Hoffman. One of my favourites of the year.Buy: Kindle | Book Depository

Paperbacks

I only read two physical books this month - one from the library and one I own.

No Filter by Orlagh Collins

A Young Adult book about a 16 year old teenager, Emerald, who is sent to Ireland to stay with her Grandmother while her mother is going through treatment. While in Dublin, Em meets local boy Liam Flynn and the pair forge an instant connection - but Liam is probably the one person that Em shouldn't be with. I liked this, it's nice to see a YA book set in modern Ireland that covers topics like social media pressure, recovery after the recession, and parental expectations.Buy: Kindle | Book Depository

The Assassin's Blade by Sarah J. Maas

This is a collection of the five Throne of Glass novellas. I read this after reading the series up to Empire of Storms - I feel it would have had more of an impact had I read it around the second or third book, because while there were snippets of new information, it wasn't really needed when I'd read the series.Buy: Kindle | Book Depository

Audiobooks

These were all borrowed from the library via the Borrowbox app (I've a post about the Library system in Ireland here).

Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier
The second Mrs. DeWinter marries Maxim after a whirlwind romance. When they return to the sprawling estate of Manderley, she realises that she has a lot to live up to - the seemingly perfect Rebecca, Maxim's late wife, was quite the woman and the staff (especially Mrs. Danvers) are NOT happy with the idea of a replacement. I really enjoyed this, Anna Massey was a wonderful narrator and I got really immersed in the story.Buy: Kindle | Book Depository

Vinegar Girl by Anne Tyler
One of the Hogarth Shakespeare retellings, this is a modern version of The Taming of the Shrew. Kate Battista is the shrew in question - abrasive, arrogant, moody. Her father is at risk of losing his research assistant, Pyotr, because of his visa, so comes up with the wonderful notion of Kate marrying Pyotr in order to save the family. While I did enjoy the story, the narrator (Kirsten Potter) grated on me slightly and I found some of the characters (Bunny and Pyotr) incredibly annoying. It's no Ten Things I Hate About You but it's a decent retelling.Buy: Kindle | Book Depository

You Don't Know Me by Imran Mahmood
A young man is on trial for murder. He has sacked his legal representative, and is making his closing speech himself. We are the jury, we hear his story and decide if he's guilty or not. Narrated by Adam Deacon, who brings this to life wonderfully. I couldn't stop listening to this - it's a gripping tale of gangs, violence and loyalty set in London. I wasn't keen on the ending but I really liked this.Buy: Kindle | Book Depository

A Head Full of Ghosts by Paul Tremblay
This is about two sisters, Meredith and Marjorie. When they were younger, their family was the subject of a reality TV show, The Posession, because they believed Marjorie was possessed by an evil spirit. Now fifteen years on, a blogger is writing about the show, and Merry is telling her story to a writer. I absolutely adored this, I thought it was a brilliant story - if We Have Always Lived in the Castle had a baby with The Exorcist and the E! network filmed it, this would be the result.Buy: Kindle | Book Depository

Disappearance at Devil's Rock by Paul Tremblay
This is about the vanishing of a young teenage boy while out playing in a park one night with his friends. His mother is convinced that she has started seeing apparitions of him, and when diary pages begin to appear in the house she thinks he's trying to get a message to her - but is that what's really going on? I did enjoy this, but kept zoning out while listening, always a sign that I'm losing interest. I ended up borrowing the eBook so I could concentrate on finishing it. Not as good at A Head full of Ghosts but a good book all the same.Buy: Kindle | Book Depository

You Sent Me a Letter by Lucy Dawson
Sophie wakes up early on the morning of her Fortieth birthday to find a stranger in her bedroom - he knows a lot about her, and hands her a sealed letter. He threatens to harm her family if she does not stick to instructions - she must open the letter at her birthday party and read the contents aloud. I enjoyed this, I thought it was a good thriller and enjoyed the story.Buy: Kindle | Book Depository

The Sleeper and the Spindle by Neil Gaiman
This was the final audiobook I borrowed from the library, it was a short listen (under two hours). Performed by a full cast, it was a fairytale retelling of Sleeping Beauty and Snow White. All over the land, people are being affected by a curse - they're falling into a deep, unresponsive sleep. The Queen travels with her short-statured companions to a castle covered in thorns, to rescue a sleeping princess and break the curse. But is everything as it seems? I enjoyed this, I think it'd be a great atmospheric listen around Halloween. Originally published in "Rags & Bones".Buy: Kindle | Book Depository
So, that's it - as usual, I've updated the Books 2017 page so you can click on the covers to read my full Goodreads review of any book I've mentioned. I'll also be back with a Spooky Reads post soon and I've a lot of Halloween DIY coming up, plus an empties post, a couple of blog tours and some subscription box unboxings. If you've any questions about anything that I haven't covered, just shout and I'll get back to you ASAP!

Disclosure

It is clearly stated at the top of every product post whether or not the review contains product samples. I have not featured any paid or sponsored content to date. All my reviews are honest and open, I don't give false reviews. As of September 2017 I use Book Depository and Amazon Affiliate links. Where I have included these, there is a notice at the top of the post.

All photographs on this website were either taken by me (watermarked) or found on royalty free image sites (artists credited where applicable). Book covers for review purposes are from Goodreads. Product images used with permission where necessary.